Jobless rates improve (5/7/04)

Two area counties that have been among the hardest-hit by high unemployment saw big improvement in March.

Jay and Blackford counties, which have had jobless rates among the highest in Indiana over the past five-plus years, each experienced almost a full percentage point drop from February to March, according to estimates released today by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.

The rates in Blackford and Jay counties each fell 0.9 percentage points, to 8.4 and 7.1 percent, respectively.

Blackford County still ranks eighth among Indiana’s 92 counties in terms of jobless figures, while Jay County’s new rate places it 26th on the state list, down from 18th-place in February.

The unemployment picture brightened in five other counties in March as well, with Adams, Delaware, Grant, Randolph and Wells counties all seeing falling rates. The decreases in joblessness ranged from 0.4 percentage points in Randolph and Wells counties to 0.2 percentage points in Adams and Grant counties.

Randolph County’s March unemployment rate of 9.5 percent, down from 9.9 percent in February, ranks it fourth-worst in Indiana. Wells County saw its rate fall to 5.8 percent from 6.2 percent.

Here are the unemployment rates for March and February for (Continued on page 2)

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other area counties: Delaware County 6.1 percent, down from 6.4 percent; Grant County 8.9 percent, down from 9.1 percent; and Adams County 4.9 percent, down from 5.1 percent.

Indiana’s estimated unemployment rate fell 0.3 percent in March to 5.6 percent.

Alan Degner, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, said in a press release that there continue to be indications that Indiana’s economy is beginning to pick up steam.

“While we understand this (unemployment) survey is just one of the many indicators one can look at, it meshes with what we’ve been seeing throughout the state. Over the last several months we’ve been seeing increasing investment, jobs being created and an economy that is bouncing back,” Degner said in the release.

The state’s seasonally adjusted rate, which is adjusted for seasonal employment trends, was an even better 5.2 percent, down from 5.3 percent in February.

Non-seasonally adjusted rates in states contiguous to Indiana were: Kentucky 5.8 percent, Ohio 6.2 percent, Illinois 6.4 percent and Michigan 7.6 percent.[[In-content Ad]]